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Tehuacana’s
major intersection
TE Photo, June 2003
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History
in a Pecan Shell
The town’s post office was called Tewockony Springs in 1847 – named
after springs that had been named after the local Tawakoni Indians.
In 1852 the Tehuacana Academy opened, and the town became known as
Tehuacana Hills – being the highest point of elevation between Dallas
and Houston. The post office
continued operation under the name Tewockony Springs, but it was renamed
in 1869 after it reopened after a closing brought upon by the Civil
War.
The Cumberland Presbyterian Church made Tehuacana the site of Trinity
University and it remained there until it moved to Waxahachie
in 1902.
The property was then sold to the Methodist Church, which opened Westminster
College.
Westminster College merged with Southwestern University in 1942 but
the school closed its doors in 1950. The school opened as Westminster
Junior College and Bible Institute in 1953. |
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| Westminster
College Athelic Team with school building in background. Photo courtesy
Louisiana State Archives, Dawson Corley Collection. Special thanks
to Bill Stafford, Research Library Supervisor |
Stained
glass from the top of a distant window is viewed from the clear bottom
pane of another. (Westminster Building)
TE Photo, June 2003 |
The
remains of the building's clock tower await restoration.
Photo courtesy Barclay
Gibson, April, 2006 |
The
building today without the tower.
Photo courtesy Barclay
Gibson, April, 2006 |
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A visit in June
of 2003 found the old University building undergoing a monumental
restoration. The Tehuacana public school (c. 1923) was in charred
ruins and looks beyond any restoration attempts.
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| Looking
up at the second floor of the former Tehuacana school – dated 1923.
TE photo, June 2003 |
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The Trinity
and Brazos Valley Railway came through in 1903 but was discontinued
in 1942 when WWII
created a need for the steel rails of short line and little-used
railroads.
The population has fluctuated between a high of over 600 in the
1920s and a low of 265 in the early 1980s.
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Tehuacana,
Texas Forum
Subject: Tehuacana
Texas
The church listed as New Hope is not closed. It is alive and membership
is maintain and current services are being held as of today. Thanks.
- Former minister/ pastor of the church.... Tony Thibodeaux, Waco
Texas, March 03, 2008
Subject: Westminster College photo
Dear TE, I ran across this photo in our collections the other
day and found your website. I believe it is the building you have
on your website. - Bill Stafford, Research Library Supervisor,
Louisiana Secretary of State, Archives Division, August 11, 2006 |
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